Early in free agency, the team signed Cary Williams from Baltimore and Bradley Fletcher from St. Louis. The Eagles also added safeties Patrick Chung from New England and Kenny Phillips from the Giants, in what looked like an entire new secondary.

Only Phillips, who never recovered from the knee injuries that curtailed his career, didn’t work out.

Yes, the Eagles still rank 32nd in the league in pass defense, but those inflated yardage numbers aren’t the only ones that matter.

Consider that the Eagles’ 13 interceptions this season are tied for eighth in the league and already are five more than they had all of last year when they ranked 30th.

The secondary has 70 pass break-ups this season, tied for fourth best in the league, and only five fewer than they had all of last year when they ranked tied for 14th.

Quarterbacks put up a 99.6 rating against the Eagles last year, throwing 33 touchdown passes to just eight interceptions. This year that number is down to 83.5 with 17 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.

Is the Eagles’ secondary a finished product? Probably not — there likely will be some more changes this offseason.

It might be the most improved area of a much-improved team, however. The next two weeks may tell the story, when they get tested Sunday by Arizona and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald and next week by Detroit and wide receiver Calvin Johnson.

So far, however, so good.

“I have a great room, a great group of guys to work with,” new secondary coach John Lovett said. “Physically, they worked hard, they got in great shape. They did everything we asked them to do. They want to get better. They’re buying into the system that we’re trying to do here.”

Different players, different coaches, a different system — it wasn’t an easy transition. The results have been different, as well.

“Absolutely,” Lovett said when asked about the needed changes. “A couple people were let go, and we had to replace them. Chip (head coach Kelly) wanted to build a foundation from the inside out; we wanted good character guys who could play as well.

“We had a group of guys here who all came in from different places and played in different systems, learning our system. You had to mix and match all of those personalities and their football IQs. I’ve learned as much from them, as they have from me.”

A relatively new stat to rate defensive backs, developed by STATS Inc., is called “ballhawks” — it’s the sum of a player’s interceptions, sacks, forced fumbles and passed defensed.

After 11 games, Williams leads the Eagles with at 15; Fletcher is right behind at 14; and nickelback Brandon Boykin is at 12. The safeties rank rookie Earl Wolff, who is still out with a knee injury, at six; Nate Allen is at five; and Chung is at four.

For comparison’s sake, two of the best in Eagles history, cornerback Troy Vincent and safety Brian Dawkins, averaged 23.5 and 18.5, respectively, in their Eagles’ careers. Vincent put up a 32½ in 2001, his best year, and Dawkins put up a 35 in 1999, his best total.

Last year, Rodgers-Cromartie led the team at 20. Asomugha had 13 and Boykin had seven.

The safeties saw Allen at six and Kurt Coleman at five.

“One of the things you have to understand, with any stats, is a guy might not get a chance at the ball because he’s not getting the opportunity. They’re not throwing at him. That’s a good thing,” Lovett said. “You like them to be able to make plays, and you want them to be able to get the guy down in open space.

“Prevent the big play, that’s what we’re all about. Keep the ball leveraged and keep the ball in front of us. That’s coach’s mantra.”